Former Pebble, Essential and WebOS designer joins Google Home team

In the leadup to the launch of the Essential company’s first phone, one of its top executives has left for Google.

Liron Damir announced this week on LinkedIn that he joined the Google Home team as its head of user experience, leaving behind the same role over at Android founder Andy Rubin’s startup.

“Definitely took the scenic route, but super excited and proud to be joining Google today to lead the design of Google Home products,” Damir wrote this week.

A Google representative confirmed the hire to CNET but offered no further comment.

Damir has previously served in design roles for the Pebble watch company as well as on the WebOS operating system for HP and LG. He is the third executive to leave Essential in the past two months, with previous departures including its VP of Marketing, Brian Wallace, and its Head of Communications, Andy Fouché.

The Essential Phone, which includes a nearly bezel-free design while running on the Android operating system, is currently only being sold online, with Sprint as the only phone carrier selling it in the US later this summer.